Outside Looking In
by RegalPixieDust
Summary: OQ Advent Day 4: Regina Mills usually avoids the office Christmas party, but when a sentimental secret santa gift and some friendly nudging occurs, she finds magic in the most unexpected of places. OutlawQueen


**A/N: The biggest of all shoutouts to everyone involved in the OutlawQueen Advent Calender. It was an honour to be included with such amazing writers and artists. This was my contribution and the Day 4 gift. Please go and check out the rest of the submissions, they are stellar! Thanks again to Grace for being such an incredible beta!**

* * *

It's the kind of chill that leaves your nose and ears aching, a pained tingling in your fingers and for anyone like Regina, a stiffness in her jaw. She bobs up and down in the elevator, snow sprinkling off her shoulders, trying to warm up after exposing herself to the frightful weather outside, a fitting comparison considering that _Let It Snow_ is flowing through the office floor mixed among the chattering employees gathered in the conference room.

Luckily, she sneaks into her office without being seen and peels off her gloves and scarf, dropping them on her desk. She clenches and unclenches fingers into fists and out straight again, a desperate attempt to increase blood flow.. Her lack of a hat wreaked havoc on her ears; they are a frozen shade of purple begging to be warmed back to their pinkish normality.

Her jacket slips off easily from her bright red sweater, her best attempt at festive and something that compliments her black pencil skirt perfectly, although Ruby seems to think she needs to add a level of Christmas. She has left a Santa hat on the back of Regina's chair even after being rather sternly told not to earlier today. Regina throws it out of sight, sighing at the thought of just how it would itch at her scalp.

It's not that she doesn't like to attend office parties. It just so happens that every time there is one, her mother has arranged for her to be as far away as possible, whether it's intentional or not remains unknown. For birthdays, she'd usually be in her office working on edits instead of laughing and gorging on overpriced store cake. She missed Mary Margaret's baby celebration to be in a meeting. This year, however, she hasn't much of an excuse to miss the Christmas party. All the edits were submitted on time and the initial readings of all the December manuscripts are complete, which is an absolute shocker - this time of year is usually an avalanche of over-romanticised Christmas love stories.

"You actually came back," Emma says cheerfully as she bounces into her closed off office.

The reindeer antlers and painted red nose are a cute touch, so naturally Regina rolls her eyes, "It appears so, Rudolph."

"Hey," Emma defends, "Just because you're being a Grinch doesn't mean you get to squander my spirit."

Regina laughs at her playful attack. They have a close relationship, she and Emma. It was unexpected to say the least, but the first time her son, Henry, came to the office, they hit it off and after at least an hour of comic book talk, she knew Emma was a new honorary member of the family.

"Did Henry get to his party?" Emma asks. Regina nods, picking up the Santa hat for two seconds, considering it for a short moment but instead tossing it onto the hard wood of the desk. "Well, you made it back just in time for secret Santa!"

"I thought you would have gone ahead," she says. "I left Sidney's on your desk."

"Ugh," she groans in disgust, "I can't believe of all people you could have picked out of that hat, you managed to pick Sidney. Please tell me you got him something good… like a restraining order."

Regina snorts a laugh through her nose, allows her lips to grin. "Maybe for his birthday."

"Are you coming to see everyone?" Emma asks, hovering by the door, eager to go back.

"I just want to double check everything is in order before we head to the bar." Regina sits at her desk and Emma sighs but refuses to put up a fight, knowing that she'd never win.

So Emma goes back out to the party whilst Regina checks through her emails, re-reads all the notes she is going to post on the way out, checking them for perfection. She takes longer than she meant to, at least thirty minutes, but the thought of missing a mistake for her mother to pick apart constantly gnaws at the back of her mind. Having a parent be the CEO of a publishing company was perfect when she was living in New York as a single mother desperately looking for a job, but she practically signed her heart and soul away when she decorated the contract with her name.

She's distracted by a soft knock at the door, far too gentle to be Emma. This time it's Mary Margaret that opens and steps through. "Sorry to bother you, Regina, I just wanted to give you this. We are planning on leaving soon if you're still planning to join us."

Mary Margaret puts a shimmering gift bag on her desk, telling her it's her secret Santa, that everyone already ripped theirs open. "Thanks, I'll be out soon," Regina promises.

Mary Margaret mumbles a genuine "good" as Regina starts to close tabs on her browser, save drafts of her edits and emails, sending off everything that needs to be sent.

From down the hallways, she hears Emma suggest one more drink for everyone before they head out, probably a subtle attempt to make sure Regina isn't left behind. So she shuts down her computer and decides to get ready, but the beautifully gifted bag on her desk draws her attention, the way the light shimmers against the lights of her desk lamp captures her gaze.

It's heavy, heavier than she would have expected. The top of the bag is sellotaped closed, and the unnecessarily glittered name tag has only her name scribbled across it.

She uses scissors to slice away the tape and she pulls the bag apart, inside a mysteriously blank, white cardboard box. She pries at the tightly closed cardboard, opening the lid and meets a collection of packaging. Concluding that whatever is inside is fragile, she carefully draws out the heavy object in its protection, and when she lifts half of the polystyrene away, her jaw slacks open and hangs.

Not only is it one of the most beautiful things she has ever seen, but it's exactly the object she has been pining over all month in Macy's. Just like every time she would drag Henry to gaze at it on the shop shelf, she's still enraptured by it; the stunning, white Christmas tree encased within the safety of an ovular globe, non-traditional gold flecks floating around and glistening whenever they catch the light. The base is just as elaborate, intricate gold patterns complementing the royal blue platform, a gold, pillared column in the centre with a white garland of tinsel supporting the globe and decorative red bows keeping with the festive theme. A gorgeous masterpiece.

She's loved snow globes ever since she was a little girl. Small worlds framed inside the comfort of glass that she gets to watch, an outsider looking in, as it comes to life. Her first, a plastic souvenir from a trip with her father; a ranch and horses surrounded by water, a storm of snow surrounding it every time she shook it with her tiny arms. Everything she loved about that trip was encased in one small object, magic flowing through it with every shake.

This gift is exquisite, though. Nothing compared to any other one she owns. It's beautiful. Perfect... and completely unexpected. There is only one person in this office that could have known she would have liked this.

"Emma," she hisses from her office. The blonde is mid-laugh when she calls but turns regardless. Regina uses her hand and beckons her over, checking left to right, making sure Emma's is the only attention she's garnered.

When she's inside, Regina clicks her office door closed. "What's wrong?" Emma asks, sipping lightly at her paper cup filled with what appears to be eggnog, most likely spiked by Emma's personal stash.

"Did you get my name for secret Santa?" Regina asks as she circles around to her desk chair.

"Nope," she pops her lips, "August was my victim and luckily he's easily amused. Shot Roulette was enough to bring smile to his annoying face." Emma sits down in front of Regina's desk and brings her feet up to the edge, comfortably for her but all knowing that it infuriates Regina to no end. "Why? Did you get something beyond awful and assume that I was the sweetheart responsible?"

Regina sighs, still confused, now knowing Emma hasn't a clue. She reaches inside the gift bag and puts the box on her desk again, opening it ever so carefully and placing the delicate ornament in the middle of the desk for Emma to see.

Emma's eyes bulge, recognising the object immediately, "Is that-"

"Yes," Regina tells her, sitting in her chair and leaning her weight on her elbows against her desk, linking her hands against her chin.

She and Emma stare at the gift, admiring it. "Well, someone definitely went over the twenty dollar limit." Regina laughs freely, grateful yet again for Emma's relaxed attitude and helpful joke to lighten the mood. "Any idea who it was?"

"Not a clue," Regina murmurs, eyes still glued to the shimmering glass. "That's why I thought it was you. Nobody else knows that I like snow globes."

"Likes? You mean that you're obsessed with them."

"I'm not obsessed," Regina scoffs, an eyeroll following close behind.

"Tell that to your fifty-five snow globes," she mutters under her breath but purposely loud enough to be heard. "Pardon me, fifty-six snow globes," she sasses, pointing to the globe on the desk. She reaches over for the gift bag, "Was there no card?"

She didn't look, to be honest, "It's _secret_ Santa, I didn't even think to look."

"Regina…" Emma says, eyes locked on something inside the bag. She lifts out something from the bottom, a card in a white envelope, easily missed. Emma takes the liberty of ripping it open, Regina not minding and watching curiously. Emma laughs, slack jawed and knowing. "Henry."

"Henry?" Regina takes what's in her hands and studies it. Two tickets to _Matilda_ in the new year, the show Henry has been begging her to see but every time they think they have the time, something comes up, almost always because of Cora's insistence.

"Whoever it is used your son for information," Emma realises. "That's actually kind of genius. Has Henry been to the office lately?"

"Robin Locksley," Regina says, not sure why he would go to all this trouble, but the only person it could have been.

…..

 _Regina slammed down the phone in her office and grunted loudly to the high heavens, scolding them for once again putting her in this horrible situation. Henry was waiting by the elevator, a devastated frown on his face now knowing that she wasn't going to get away in time to make the show that they had been planning to see for months; they had even purchased tickets this time._

" _Regina?" Robin popped his head into her office. He shouldn't have still been there, it was well past six, but it looked as if he was leaving. He'd wrapped up to tackle the Christmas crowds and the chilly weather. "Are you alright?" He'd been rather consistent in checking up on her lately, always making sure that she had everything she needed, constantly asking if there was more he could do around the office._

 _Usually, she would never open up to someone she worked with. Keeping work relationships to a minimum meant that her mother had less to target her with in meetings, but right then she was angry and upset and thinking of her son's sad face, so she spilled, "No." She sighed sadly, a shudder in her breath before, "I have disappointed my son, yet again. All because my mother is adamant on ruining everything in my life."_

 _Robin wasn't expecting the outburst but tackled it with grace and slipped into her office, leaning against the filing cabinet to his right and looked at her as if to say_ go on _._

 _Letting it out felt good, so she continued, pointing at her computer and complained, "I was supposed to get away early today but my mother seems to think that I have nothing better to do, like take care of her Grandson, so she sends me three drafts to read through before tomorrow morning." She was defeated and leaned forward on her desk, her weight kept up by her elbows. "My son is sitting by the elevators all alone, probably upset. It kills me how much I let him down."_

" _Don't be ridiculous," Robin scolds very lightly, not happy at all with the way she is ridiculing herself. "You have a demanding job and I know Henry. He is just like you. He is understanding and forgiving, so I know he will understand and forgive this."_

" _We were supposed to see a show tonight," she sighed sadly into her hands. "It's all he's been asking me to do since the summer. I thought it would be a nice Christmas outing, turns out it'll just be another night of stress and Henry just has to sit here while I finish this. I am the worst."_

" _What show?" Robin asked, ignoring her self-belittling._

"Matilda _," she smiled sadly. Henry had been so enthusiastic about seeing it. He knows all the songs. He could've probably joined the cast that very night for most of the numbers._

" _My boy would probably like to see that one, too," Robin told her. She had only seen little Roland in the office once or twice but never felt it necessary to introduce herself, despite how her heartstrings always tugged her that way. "But he's with his mother this year for the holidays, so maybe when he gets back. Henry's by the elevator?"_

 _Robin changed the subject so fast that she didn't get to act on the curiosity swirling her stomach about his wife, or ex as it appeared. "Yeah, he wanted to give me space to work," she frowned deciding then to lean back in her chair and stretch slightly._

" _And how long will you be here?"_

" _At least an hour," she groaned. "It's a good thing he has a phone to keep him busy." Robin slipped his hands from his gloves and started to take off the layers that would protect him from all the cold lurking outside. "What are you doing?"_

 _He stuffed his gloves and scarf into his jacket pocket before dragging it off his shoulders, "I have nowhere to be right now and there's no use in you wasting a night with your son, I know how precious time is with your children."_

 _Her heart exploded at the gesture, but it wouldn't work, "Robin… As much as I appreciate it, Cora… she'll know if I didn't do this work myself."_

 _Robin slumped in the chair slightly, defeated and unhappy that he can't be of more help, but then he asked, "What if I sit with Henry until you're finished? That way he isn't alone."_

" _You'd do that?"_

" _Like I said, I've nowhere to be."_

" _Okay," she smiled brightly, gratefully. "I won't be long, I promise."_

" _Take all the time you need," he hushed her, told her to focus._

…..

"Robin?" Emma asks again, grinning menacingly at Regina, a tease just begging to be released and Regina couldn't be anymore confused.

There is a whirlwind of questions attacking each corner of her mind, like why he would go to all this trouble to get her something this valuable, why he would heed Henry's advice let alone actually take it. On top of all that, she has the mischievous simper of a fake reindeer in her face. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She whines.

"God, you are so blind…" Emma groans heavily and rolls her eyes. She leans the top half of her body out the door, shouting, "Hey Ruby, come here a sec."

"Emma, _stop,_ " Regina bites, yanking on her Emma's shoulder, the last thing she needs or wants if for anyone to clue in on any excitement and draw any interest from the rest of the employees.

"What's up?" Emma gives her the globe and Ruby completely fawns over it, complimenting the colours and the shimmering specks within. She even reaches underneath and twists until music plays, a short Christmassy melody.

"Robin got it for Regina," Emma tells her, nudging her shoulder, Regina still left out of whatever knowledge they have.

"Our little outlaw?" Ruby's eyes spark up at the information and her gleam latches onto Regina.

She's sick of being kept out of this loop, "Care to fill me in?"

Ruby shrugs as if it's nothing short of old news. "Robin has had the hots for you since the second day he started here."

"And the only reason it wasn't the first day is because you were off that day," Emma adds.

Regina scoffs. "You're both delusional." She's never noticed anything like they are implying. She'd given up on anything like that many years ago and she sighs, "Robin is my co-worker. Nothing more than a friend."

"He doesn't _stare_ at you like a friend," Ruby mutters under her breath.

"Nope, not even close," Emma agrees with Ruby, "And what about every time he picks up lunch, he always gets you your weird kale thing,"

"It's hardly crime to pick up lunch for your boss," Regina huffs, leaning her weight on the edge of her desk.

"But he doesn't even ask you what you want anymore, he just knows. Not to mention that he gets here like an hour early almost everyday with your favourite coffee in his hand to just drop on your desk."

" _You_ leave me coffee, Ruby," she corrects. The mysterious cups always come from the same place and there's no way it's a coincidence that they always come from Ruby's grandmother's place.

"Uh, no… Just because it comes from Granny's doesn't mean I'm the one bringing them in for you, though I have solid evidence that it's Robin. I have it on good authority that he stops by the diner every morning and picks up two coffees."

"And the other day when your mom ripped into Owen," Emma begins to add onto their list of reasons. "He was tossing around some horrible things about you and Robin was having _none_ of it. He defended you more than he would a friend."

"He did?" She knows that some of the people on her floor are endlessly bitter knowing her relation to Cora, but any words thrown in her defence have gone unnoticed.

"He is part of the Regina Defence League. Whenever Cora leaves your office, he always tiptoes past to make sure you're okay, or as okay as you can be."

Though she wishes it isn't all a complete coincidence and not merely a reflection of Robin's character, she tells the pair, "I think you're both reading far too much into it."

Ruby scoffs, "Need we ask anyone else in the office? Mary Margaret, maybe?"

"God no!" The last thing she needs in Mary Margaret caught up in all of this. "I… I just... never noticed."

"It's hard to notice anything when your life is shadowed by your mother and the ridiculous expectations she has for you," Emma frowns thinking about how Cora treats her. "Do you like him?"

"I... I haven't really thought about it." But maybe she has - surely there is a part of her that has noticed the little things. Suddenly, the small flutters in her stomach make sense. The warmth on her skin when he stops into her office for a quick word. Every lunch he has ever picked up for her suddenly weighing on her shoulders as she realises that Emma and Ruby may be right. "Oh God… What if I do?"

"This is a good thing, Regina," Ruby comforts her. "He's gorgeous. He's honourable. He is very, very interested in you, obviously," She lifts the snow globe to emphasise her point. "Do you need anything else? Go and thank him." Ruby gives her the gift and steps away from the door, both she and Emma practically bouncing on the spot for her. She ignores everything, trying to convince herself that they are merely acting childishly as she sneaks past the rest of her employees in the conference room. Robin's not there, she notices, so she walks to his office. There's a feeling stirring in her stomach, something unusual but exciting; a thrill.

Robin is clearing some mess from his desk, facing away from her when she leans on the doorframe. She watches for a second, choosing to just talk to him like she usually would. "Did you really harbour intel from my son?"

He straightens up immediately but doesn't turn around. He's been caught out and whether he intended for it to be seen, she catches how he bites his bottom lip amidst a smirk in the reflection on the window, the contrast from the dark outside making it as clear as a summer's day. Slowly, he twists around on the balls of his feet and slants back slightly to let his desk perch up his weight.

…..

 _Henry was sat by the elevator just as Regina had said he would be, only his face is nothing like she was convinced it would be. Sure, he was bored out of his mind, but nothing screamed that he was angry or upset._

" _Hey Robin," Henry waved from the bench. "Isn't it late for you to be here?"_

 _Robin sat next to him, leaning against the wall and stretching his legs out in front. "I was close to missing a deadline for your mum. It was a quiet night for me so I had no problem staying late." Henry smiled tightly and Robin added, "I'm sorry you missed your show."_

 _He brushed it off quickly, "It's no biggie, it'll still be there tomorrow…" then he realised, "Mom's beating herself up about it, isn't she?" Robin didn't need to answer, though the way he clasped his hands together gave it away, so Henry sighed, "I wish she wouldn't. Grandma works her too hard."_

 _Robin was glad that Regina was blessed with such a wondrous young man for a son, displaying such maturity and kindness for someone of only twelve years old. How he or Regina are related to Cora Mills was something he would never be able to solve._

 _Robin pursed his lips in thought for a moment, an idea suddenly lit in his mind, "I could actually use your help with something."_

" _Me?" Henry asked, unsure as to what he could possibly do to help an adult, but he perked up at the idea of it._

 _Robin digs into his trouser pocket and shows Henry a small piece of paper with Regina's name written on it, "I picked your mum's name out of the Santa hat at lunch today." Henry looked at him, not understanding. "Secret Santa," Robin explained, sighing, "Regina and I have known each other for three years and I haven't the first idea what she would like."_

 _Henry hummed, turning away and scrunching up his face as he rattled through his brain for ideas. One reached its way to the tip of his tongue but Robin watched as he swallowed it away and began to think again, though defeatedly telling Robin, "I'm not sure."_

" _You had an idea," Robin urged. "I saw it, you were about to say something."_

 _Henry breathed out heavily, "My mom loves snow globes." Robin's eyes widened, he knew that there was bound to have been something Regina had an affinity for, but snow globes weren't even on his spectrum on guesses. "And everyday on the way home she stops in at Macy's and just stares at this one snow globe, it's right in the middle of the display. Gold and blue, it's really pretty. She gets lost in her own world staring at it."_

" _Hmm," Robin slumped back and locked the information to memory. "And if the snow globe doesn't work out?"_

" _She eats so much chocolate," he shrugged. "You could never go wrong there."_

 _Robin snorted at Henry's nonchalance. The young boy had no idea how different of a person Regina asserts herself as at work and he speaks of her freely. It was nice. "And what about you? Anything exciting on your list to Santa?"_

 _Henry rolled his eyes and craned his glare, "I know Santa isn't real, Robin."_

" _Oh," Robin chuckled. "My apologies. Does your mother know about this?"_

" _I'm giving her a couple more years," Henry laughed as he mimicked the way Robin was sitting, head against the wall, feet stretched out._

" _How noble of you, Sir," Robin teased._

…..

"I wanted to give you something you'd _actually_ enjoy."

She's gripping onto the base of the globe, running her thumbs over the grooves and bumps of its decor, letting her fingers trace along the edges, "I appreciate that, Robin. I really do..." She sighs down towards it, "...but this is far too much. Not to mention the theatre tickets."

He brushes off her comment, "It's nothing really."

"We set a price cap for a reason."

"Look…" he laughs, stepping closer to her, asserting himself so she'll listen but little does he know that it makes her heart skip a beat. "I could have very easily ran down to Bath and Body Works to get you some more of that apple cinnamon moisturiser you smell like everyday or I could have gone to that small shop a few blocks over to pick you up some of that Cuban coffee you think nobody knows you stash away under the sink in the break room." She tries to conceal her blush, but her skin reddens as he rattles off all the things she never imagined anyone would notice. He isn't even close to being done, continuing, "Or I even could have put together a little gift voucher for you to get a pair of glasses because watching you squint at your computer screen is as painful as it is adorable." She opens her mouth to speak, words working against her and keeping her silent and slack jawed. "You go above and beyond for people in this office, Regina. On days when your mother stops by, and I apologise in advance for the scrutiny, but she comes in here and picks people apart when they're at their most vulnerable. I know you think we don't notice when you do little things to make our day better after we have been caught in your mother's crossfire. I've seen you stay late and stress over paperwork that you've picked from our desks when our back is turned. You've stayed here two hours after the office closes to make sure everything's in order before Cora's inquisition the next morning. So, if you think the gift is too much from me alone, then consider it a gift from everyone in the office because there is nobody in this building more deserving of it than you."

She's obviously taken aback for many reasons; the compliment she doesn't think she's deserving of, but the little things, too; her scent, her coffee habits.

Emma was right. Ruby was right. In an instant, she sees Robin in a new light and it's not just because of the fairy lights brightening up his face from his office window. She and Robin have been friendly for years, bantering back and forth, casual office etiquette, but she's suddenly able to recognise everything in a world she once couldn't see clearly.

"And as for the tickets," he shrugs his shoulders, "You were so distraught that night. So I figured I could help you finally get that second chance to take Henry. This time over a weekend so you've no chance to be called in and if you are for whatever reason, I may have to resort to measures that could get me fired."

"Why? Why go to all this trouble?"

"Henry is a good kid and did me a solid with the information, it's the least I could do as a thank you and…"

His voice softens, drifting away into a whisper, but the unspoken thought still lingers. "And what?" She asks.

"And I like you," he confesses. "Very much so…"

She shakes her head slightly, still cynical even in the face of his confession. He's nervous, chewing at the insides of his cheeks. He steps closer, she thinks in attempts to apologise for his disclosure and her nerves are bubbling. "Thank you," she says quickly and sincerely, shying away when he gets a little closer, referring the gift in her hands. She panics slightly, shutting him away. Of course she did, she's an expert at that.

He smiles with feigned brightness, dipping his chin, hiding the disappointment from her apparent rejection. "You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Regina." He turns back to finish up clearing his desk for the holidays, balling up sheets of paper and tossing them into the recycling, tucking in the chair opposite the one he resides in almost every day.

She looks out his office door and Emma is staring at her quite obviously from through the glass in the conference room, most of her co-workers shying away from their own staring when Regina comes into view. Emma points towards Robin and mouths silently, "Get back in there," exaggerating every shape her lips form to make it clear.

So she looks his way again, towards his back, but their eyes lock in the window and he smirks, an amused upturn of his when he twirls to face her for the second time. She feels a pull suddenly and maybe it's the light feeling he's left in her stomach or maybe it's just the magic of Christmas, but she drops the gifted ornament on the top of his filing cabinet, takes three large, confident strides toward him and locks into his gaze, a sea of blue that she never had never before noticed that she'd love to get lost in.

The expression on his face changes from a playful gleam to slight concern and apology, muttering, "If I overstepped…"

But that's not it at all. She grips onto the lapels of his suit jacket, takes a leap of faith for once in her life and tugs him in towards her, crashing a bruising kiss to his lips as she ignores the maniacal swirling of nerves in her stomach and goosebumps on her skin.

It's soft and yearning, her first kiss in what feels like a lifetime and she's completely enthralled in the taste of him, proud of herself for letting go of her reservations and letting her feelings run the show for once. That's until she thinks she feels him hesitate and try to pull away, so she loosens her grip on his jacket, leans back, losing his lips as they descend into the awkwardness that she has brought upon herself.

She's afraid to look at him, afraid that she has read the situation all wrong. Emma might have been wrong and maybe he is just a nice person and does all those things for her with no ulterior motive.

She shifts on her feet, and boy, she wishes there was mistletoe hanging above them so she could pass this off as merely tradition. But he clears his throat to get her attention, surprising her when his lips twitch into a huge smile, teeth bearing as white as the snow gathering on the streets below them and before she can voice the unnecessary apology that is fizzing away in her stomach, she catches that look in his eye.

Everyone knows this look; the blend of sexy and adorable that washes over the eyes of any man who is about to kiss the life out of a woman. The look that makes her heart flutter and her lips tremble. She watches his dreamy eyes gaze over her own and notices when they slowly lower and fix on her lips. She stifles a laugh from her belly when his eyes glance back up quickly in the hopes of recovering from giving anything away.

He begins to glance up and down, but as hard as he tries to keep his eyes away from her lips, he can't, which fully exposes how he feels and just what he plans to do. He continues fighting the battle with his eyes as they glance up and down, eyes to lips, and by doing so he can't help but slowly and patiently move closer and closer to her. He's taking all the time in the world because he knows he only has one chance to make it right.

His hands finger into her hair, waiting a final second to make sure she shows no signs of pulling away, and plants an utterly perfect kiss against the lips that his eyes could not be pried from.

She moans into him, gives into him completely, and wraps her arms high and around his neck, tiptoeing the tiny bit needed to be flush against him. Her mind goes blissfully blank, her heart pounding in her chest at the spontaneity.

She whimpers quietly when he peels his warm lips away from her, missing him the second he's no longer connected to her. There's a moment of silence but it's surprisingly comfortable and he won't let her move away, keeping her tightly against him, squeezing her in as far as possible.

"Don't laugh," he mutters into their shared breath, "But I have wanted to do that since the moment I saw you." She laughs anyway, nervously at first but they lets it develop into something much more cozy and pleasant. "Can we just pretend this was your secret Santa to me?" He asks, obviously referring to their heated liplock.

"Are you unhappy with your gift?" She grins, bumping her nose against his like it were the most natural thing in the world, when he cranes his neck to look back onto his desk. She follows his gaze and catches the birdhouse by his computer screen. Obviously hand-crafted and carefully painted but Regina can't help but snort, bringing about his own bout of laughter as well. "Mary Margaret," she breathes humorously, all knowing.

"I live in a fourth floor apartment," he explains and her laughter grows, but it's still soft given their proximity.

"She does love those birdhouses." He groans playfully, leaning towards her lips again and she speaks in a whisper, letting it grow, "please consider this your gift for the day," she grins, fighting the frown when he releases his hold and gives her the chance to step back.

Once she's a step away, she clears her throat, her nerves bubbling ever so slightly again. "May I take you to dinner?" He asks and she imagines that his hidden hands are due to crossed fingers he doesn't want her to see.

"Absolutely," she says confidently, sure, nodding happily, and eagerly asking, "Right now?"

"We could," he easily agrees, "Though what about drinks with everyone else?"

"I'd rather just go with you."

His lips smile wide again while she waits for him to collect his coat, the only thing to protect from the frightful weather outside. Emma is just conveniently waiting by the elevator with Regina's jacket and purse, fighting the grin wanting to stretch up to her antlered headband. "Merry Christmas, lovebirds," she smirks and watches as the doors of the elevator close Robin and Regina inside.

The excited glint and gleam on Emma's face is one that Regina recognises, she has made for years, a portrait of wonder, excitement and general ease.

Suddenly Regina understands what it must be like from inside one of her snow globes, an entirely new perspective. The world she has found herself in is an appreciation she couldn't see before, shaken awake by Emma and Ruby until the snow swirled around and encouraged her to let down the walls she's built up incredibly high.

For the first time, she's no longer on the outside looking in on a world she envies. All she needed was a push and the festive season to appreciate the wonders and comfort of her own globe.


End file.
